Normally, positioning devices are realized in the form of a serial arrangement of simple component parts, each of these parts being allocated to one motion component. The direction of the motion components is determined by articulated connections for rotational motion components and by sled-like or telescopic connections for translational motion components.
Due to their structure, positioning devices are very susceptible to vibration. As a consequence of vibrations occurring, an undesired motion, opposing the purpose of the positioning device, is superimposed on the desired motion between tool and target object. For this reason, simple positioning devices in particular do often not fulfil high precision requirements. By active influence on vibrations of a positioning device, it should be principally possible to suppress vibrationally excited relative motion between the tool and the target object, at least to such a degree that the remaining negative effects become negligible. In the case of successful active influence on vibration, it would be possible to design the positioning devices in a more lightweight and cheaper and therefore more efficient manner. All elements, which are already present in a respective positioning device, and also additional elements can be used as active members for active influencing on vibration. Control of the active elements would have to be carried out by means of a control device, which requires information, if even possible in real time, about the vibrationally excited relative motion between tool and target object. This information should be available in the form of an error signal.